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The Irish stoat is widespread throughout Ireland and is a distinct sub-species confined to Ireland and the Isle of Man. They are often mistakenly called weasels in rural areas, but weasels are not found in Ireland.

The main difference in the Irish stoat is the dividing line between the chestnut-brown fur and the cream underside, which is usually irregular, and the hair on the upper lip is brown in the Irish stoat, also there is no white edge on the ear. The tip of the tail is always black. They do not normally become white (Ermine) in winter, due to our climate and lack of sitting snow.

Irish stoats have long thin cylindrical bodies and short legs. Males are larger than females with the average adult male measuring up to 40cm for the head and body while the females are shorter measuring up to 30cm. Stoats have long slender tails in proportion to their bodies which have a distinctive black tip at the end, males grow slightly longer tails than females which can measure up to 14cm in length. Adult males weigh up to 400 grams with females being much lighter weighing on average 200 grams. Unusually for mammals there is a noticeable difference in the size of the Irish population of stoats with individuals in the south being bigger and heavier than those found in more northern areas. Stoats have excellent vision and largely hunt by sight, their senses of smell and hearing are also well developed. They are good climbers, can swim well if required and able to run quite fast for short distances using a bounding stride interrupted to stand upright on their hind legs to survey the area.

They can be found in woodlands, hedgerows, marsh, heather, lowland farms, moorland, coastal areas and mountains. They prefer open woodlands and rocky scrub covered areas, on agricultural lands they would be near stone walls, ditches or hedgerows.

Irish stoats are skilled hunters they generally prey on rodents, birds, rabbits and insects. Male stoats will stalk and kill prey much larger than themselves, while females concentrate on smaller mammals like shrews, mice and rats. A single strong bite to the back of the neck is the favored method of attack for stoats. While they are largely carnivorous they will supplement their diets with berries and fruits depending on availability. While above ground stoats use their eyesight to locate prey such as birds, reptiles and voles while they use their sense of smell if hunting rabbits or rats below ground. Stoats are good climbers and will eat bird’s eggs from the nest, and as competent swimmers they can hunt fish in slow moving rivers.

The main breeding season for the Irish stoat begins in May and ends in July. An unusual adaptation for small mammals sees a long delay between mating and when gestation begins, this is done to ensure that the young are born the following year in early summer to avail of better conditions and food supply. Irish stoats produce one litter per year with each litter of five to twelve young known as kits. When born they are blind, deaf and have a light covering of fluffy white fur weighing only 4 grams. They are totally dependent on their mother and are fully weaned after five weeks. Rapid growth will see the young stoats becoming fully independent after twelve weeks by which time their mothers will have taught them several hunting techniques which they will need when establishing their own territories. Another unusual reproductive trait of the Irish stoat is that some female kits can become sexually mature after only a few weeks, if mating occurs with an adult male then the young stoat can become pregnant while still being weaned by her mother although the delayed gestation period of stoats means she will not give birth until the following year once she sets up her own territory.

The Animal Ecology & Conservation Group, NUIG, with the support of The Vincent Wildlife Trust, are carrying out a nationwide study of the Irish stoat. If you have any information on the Irish stoat, especially sightings, please fill in our online survey form at:

The Revolution Design Racing Products Ultra Flat Head Carburator Wrench is not just your ordinary flat head screwdriver but a precision tool to adjust and monitor your engine’s carburettor settings in the best possible way. Offering a hardened spring steel 4×0.8mm tool tip the wrench is ideal to adjust all mixture needles found on today’s engines such as the main and idle needle but also mid range needles on competition engines. And the cleverness does not end here! When holding the gauge incorporated into the blade in place and turning the wrench at the same time you can easily read and monitor the changes you do to the needle settings. How often have you heard you racing buddies to lean the “main needle by a quarter of a turn”. You now can make it even more exact by using the Ultra Flat Head Carburator Wrench. And once you are done with your race you can easily stop the engine by pressing the upper rubber plug against the engine’s flywheel. As usual the tool handle come made from black anodised aluminium with laser-etched logos for that signature Revolution Design look.

Its one thing to win two consecutive rounds of qualifying at the IFMAR Worlds, but its quite enough to leave the rest of the field in your dust. Current ROAR National Champion Ty Tessmann made short work of the first day of qualifying at the 2014 IFMAR Fuel Off-Road World Championships, winning the second round by five seconds – which, believe it or not, was actually closer than the first round. Hes halfway to the overall TQ, as the points earned in four of the six rounds contribute to the overall qualifying order, but a perfect score on Day One is certainly an excellent start.

Tessmann flirted with a 17-lap run with a dazzling display of car control – and an equally brilliant pit stop from his parents using the new Pro-Line fuel stick, which he chose to complete before the halfway mark in order to make the best of track position and stay out while the other drivers cycled through pit lane. A small bobble on the second lap was really the only blemish on an otherwise sterling performance. Though TQ earns nothing but bragging rights and a front-row spot for the ever-important semifinal, Tessmann can sleep well tonight knowing he’s halfway there.

Defending champ Robert Batlle improved significantly over his first round finish of ninth, turning a time some 13 seconds faster to be the fastest of anyone not hailing from the land of the maple leaves. Batlle’s only mistake also came on the second lap of the heat, but it was smooth sailing from there – and he set his fastest lap of the race right after his pit stop.

Batlle’s Mugen Seiki teammate Lee Martin was fourth, and he too set his best lap of the heat after his pit stop. Martin ran behind Lutz for two laps until he settled in, and led the rest of his heat before finishing 4.5 seconds up on Lutz and the field. The run gave Martin two fourth place finishes on the day, a great result considering his second run was about a half second slower.

Jörn Neumann finished third in his heat, after winner Batlle and less than six tenths behind Jared Tebo. The run was a 14-second improvement over the first round, as the German went toe-to-toe with Tebo for nearly the entire race with his Durango DNX8 prototype.

One can’t help but imagine that Ryan Maifield is pleased with the beginning of his first major nitro race with new sponsor TLR, scoring his second top ten finish of the day with his 8IGHT 3.0. No doubt benefitting from the guidance and experience of teammate Adam Drake, who finished third in round two, Maifield is off to a great start.

Ryan Cavalieri improved by four seconds and was the fastest of four drivers within less than eight-tenths of a second – including the two drivers who finished immediately behind him in heat one. Just sixth in his heat on lap one, Cavalieri quickly climbed to the top of the charts and held off a late chart from Darren Bloomfield. Cavalieri led the AE prototype charge, with teammate Cragg just .075 seconds behind.

PICCO is proud to announce their newest engine to their offroad Boost series lineup. The new PICCO Boost .21 3TZ engine is a 3 port competition racing engine that is equipped with a 14mm silicone filled crankshaft, large 60mm cooling head, new crankcase design allows more clearance for different flywheels, super strong “knife edged” aerodynamic connecting rod, lightened piston CNC machined from high percentage silicone alloy billet, and high quality “Swiss” made bearings.

PICCO says, “The PICCO Boost 3TZ has great torque and top speed with a very usable and controllable powerband. Its strong yet smooth bottom end make the 3TZ is suitable for both buggy and truggy racing applications. It provides great fuel economy, easy stable tuning and PICCO’s legendary quality.”